ADDRESS OF WILLIAM H. MICHAEL, LATE OF 
THE ELEVENTH IOWA INFANTRY AND OF THE 
UNITED STATES NAVY * a ^ ^ 



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IOWA SOLDIERS AND SAILORS 



IN THE 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 



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BEFORE THE BIENNIAL MEETING OF THE ASSO- 
CIATION OF CROCKER'S IOWA BRIGADE AT 
WATERLOO, IOWA, SEPTEMBER 14, 1904 * 4, 



Iowa Soldiers and Sailors in the War 
of the Rebellion. 



Comrades, Geiitlemen, and Ladies: 

One of Iowa's leading dailies recently said : 

The Navy has not received the recognition in Iowa 
which the services of her gallant tars merit. Even in 
speaking or writing about the Iowa soldiers' and sailors' 
monument, which is the real title of the memorial erected 
by Iowa people, the sailors are generally omitted. 

This criticism was evidently not intended as a 
reflection on the people of Iowa for any intended 
slight of the men who represented the State in the 
Navy during the war, but rather as a reminder that 
in their great admiration and love for their brave 
soldiers they might possibly lose sight of the fact 
that Iowa owes a great debt to her ex-sailors. 

The people of this great State — greater in noth- 
ing than in her loyalty and in her love for the " old 
soldier " — would not knowingly and purposely omit 
mention of the services rendered by her "gallant 
tars " any more than she would belittle the deeds of 
her gallant soldiers. She has a warm place in her 
patriotic, throbbing heart for all her sons who 
responded to the call of their country to save the 
Union and defend the flag. 



It is for the purpose of reminding you of the 
eminent service performed, in part, by Iowa boys 
as sailors in the war of the rebelHon that I appear 
before you. In this effort I shall make brief 
allusion to the general work of the Navy in order 
to show iiow great an honor it is to the people of 
this State to have identified themselves with this 
ami of the service by a generous contribution of 
officers and men during the war of the rebellion. 

Bv the erection of the State monument the people 
of Iowa sought to honor 75,860 soldiers sent to the 
front as her \rdvt of the greatest army of citizen sol- 
diery e\'cr marshaled on the face of the earth — an 
armv that numbered, exclusive of reenlistments, 
2,213,365 men, of whom there were killed in battle 
and by other casualties, and died of disease prior 
to ] uly 1 , 1 865, 364, 1 1 6 men. 

Iowa's soldiers, by their brilliant services, by their 
sufferings, by their sacrifices, and by the lives they 
o-ave that the Union miijht live, erected a monument 
to their State which reaches to the skies, and before 
whose grand proj^ortions lowans all may stand with 
uncovered heads, while their hearts are thrilled 
witii emotions of gratitude, wonder, and pride not 
unniingled witii sadness. Standing in the presence 
of sucli a monument it is little wonder that for the 
moment they forget the "gallant tars" — standing in 
the blaze of o;lor\- which shines around the memory 



of Iowa's soldiers it can not be a matter of surprise 
that the comparatively small number of Iowa ex- 
sailors and marines are for a time obscured. But 
when aroused from the spell of love and admira- 
tion for her soldiers, living and dead, and pointed to 
the deeds of her equally brave and true sailors, this 
noble State will fold them also to her loyal and 
loving heart, and will point with equal pride and 
emotion to the monument she has raised toward 
heaven as a memorial to the 48 commissioned 
officers and not less than 800 men she furnished 
for the Navy and Marine Corps during the war as 
her splendid contribution to a naval force of 1 2 1,954 
men and to an army of 10,000 marines — a force 
which by its bravery, endurance, and genius locked 
up more than 3,000 miles of shore line, wrested 
from a wary and active foe 1,500 miles of internal 
water line, excited the wonder of all nations by its 
dramatic achievements, and by its original methods 
compelled a revolution of naval warfare throughout 
the civilized world. 

Iowa sailors helped to make up this naval force 
and are entitled to share in the glories and honors of 
all that it accomplished. Iowa had sons in every 
squadron save one, and in the Mississippi Squadron 
she had commissioned officers on 27 vessels and 
men before the mast on nearly every one of the 100 
vessels comprising that squadron. 



4 

Iowa had nine ccjnimissioned officers in the Regu- 
lar Navy during the war, ranging in rank from 
ensign to lieutenant-commander, and four commis- 
sioned officers in the Marine Corps. In the A^olun- 
teer Navy she had thirty-six officers, namely, three 
lieutenants, three masters, seven ensigns, seven 
master's mates, one chief engineer, five first assist- 
ant engineers, six second assistant engineers, three 
third assistant engineers, and one surgeon. The 
fleet paymaster of this squadron was also an lowan. 
The most painstaking research has led me to the 
conclusion that the number of enlisted men fur- 
nished by Iowa for the Navy is above 800. Most 
of these served in the Mississippi Squadron. Thus, 
this young State, located in the Far West, far 
removed from the scenes that lure to sailor life, 
furnished to the Navy a body of men equal to a 
regiment, doing duty in every squadron save one. 
Having spent half of mv lifetime in loyal Iowa 
I take just pride in this creditable showing; aye, I 
take pride in the reflection that Iowa linked herself 
in history with the older and essentially seaboard 
States in naval association and glorious naval 
achievement. And how hallowed this association 
and magnificent this achievement I How many of 
us realize the splendor of either ! 

Shall we turn for a moment to the history of the 
Navy and see how difficult it would be to exag- 



gerate the value of the services that have been 
rendered by it? During the war of the Revolution 
our naval force numbered at no time more than 
5,000 men, yet during that war our Navy captured 
800 vessels from the British and not less than 12,000 
prisoners. One capture alone, made by one ves- 
sel, numbered 500 soldiers belonging to the picked 
regiments of the English army. The total number 
of men captured by our infant and improvised Navy 
was larger than one-third of Lord Howe's entire 
army, more than twice the number of prisoners sur- 
rendered by Burgoyne, 5,000 more than the num- 
ber of prisoners surrendered bv Cornwallis, and only 
1,761 less than the aggregate number of prisoners 
taken at Trenton and surrendered by Burgoyne and 
Cornwallis. Yet how many of my hearers can re- 
call a single page of history devoted to this astound- 
ing fact ! Had the 500 English soldiers referred to 
been taken prisoners on land by Washington's army 
the event would have filled many pages of our 
histories. It was by our Navy that the Army was 
supplied with the munitions of war. The war with 
France was fought exclusively by the Navy, as also 
was the war with the Barbary States. In the lat- 
ter war the Navy forced from Barbary rights and 
privileges for Americans which had been denied to 
European powers. The war of 1 8 1 2 was a struggle 
for independence on water as was the war of the 



Revolution a struggle for independence on land. 
In this war the Navy of the United States humbled 
the i)ride of Great Britain as it had never been 
humbled before. The American sailors secured our 
"inalienable rights" upon the high seas. Before 
this was an accomplished fact, however, our little 
Navy caj^tured over fifteen hundred English vessels 
and more than twenty thousand English seamen. 
In this struggle of two years and a half our Navy 
almost annihilated British commerce, and in eighteen 
naval battles won hfteen decisive victories. 

The glory of this record can be fully appreciated 
onlv in the light of the fact that the English navy 
at this time was at the lieight of its glory — loaded 
down, as it were, with the consciousness that it had 
conquered the combined navies of the world, so 
that the London Star exclaimed: "Our maritime 
superiority is in fact a part of the law of nations," 
and the London Statesman of June lo, 1812, 
declared that ".Vmerica certainly can not pretend to 
wage war with us; she has no navy to do it with." 
Yet there followed in (juick succession after the war 
began a series of victories in favor of the American 
Navy which more than realized the prophecy 
Napoleon made in 1803, when he parted with 
Louisiana, tliat " I have given to luigland a mari- 
time rival that will sooner or later humble her 
])ride," and wliich extorted from the English at the 



close of the war the admission that "the people of 
the United States felt a just pride when they saw 
their marine take its place among the best of 
Europe and assert its claim to the respect of the 
proudest maritime nation in the world." 

The characteristics of the American sailor in the 
earlier wars have remained with him and distin- 
guished him throughout the growth of our Navy, 
He has always been submissive to discipline with- 
out surrendering his manhood ; he has been a stu- 
dent of gunnery ; he has from the first sought to 
improve his weapons and every detail of his ship 
that would orive him advantao^e over his antacfonist ; 
he has always striven to be expert in handhng his 
vessel, and has always shown indomitable pluck, 
quick perception, and spirit that finds embodiment 
in the words of the immortal Lawrence, "Never 
give up the ship." This is the explanation of suc- 
cess in every naval war in which the Yankee sailor 
has taken part. It was this that filled England 
with amazement and alarm and foreshadowed a 
naval power which at some time would assert the 
supremiacy of the seas. It was the recognition of 
the Yankee genius for naval warfare that held Eng- 
land in wholesome dread of provoking the United 
States too far in the struggle to crush out the rebel- 
lion. It was this as much if not more than aught 
else that caused Napoleon III to abandon his 



scheme to place Maximilian on the throne of 
Mexico. Europe did not believe at the beginning 
of the civil war that wc could within a few months 
seal up a long line of seacoast and defy their most 
formidable ships. The lessons we had given them 
in naval warfare had been partially forgotten. 
When the little monitor stole into Hampton Roads 
and defeated an ironclad that could have destroyed 
any European fleet the eyes of Europe and the 
world were opened to the possibilities of American 
inventive genius and naval prowess, and from that 
moment there was no real danger of European 
intervention in our affairs. Indeed, instead of 
threatening us with their navies they set about 
reforming and remodeling their own vessels of 
war for their own protection on the lines of 
\'ankee invention and Yankee success. And it 
may be said without laying Iowa liable to the 
charge of boasting that her sailors helped to make 
some of the brightest pages of naval history during 
the war of the rebellion. 

Iowa peojile well remember the battle of Bel- 
mont, in wliich some Iowa soldiers were first under 
fire. They recall how impetuously the raw troops 
under Grant attacked the enemy and drove him 
from his camp and breastworks back to the river and 
under cover of the heavy guns at Columbus. They 
recollect how jubilant our soldiers were over this 



their first victory ; how they went about congratu- 
lating each other upon their success, and how the 
enemy the while was sending heavy reenforccments 
across the river and massing them below prepara- 
tory to an attack ; how the attack was made and 
our inferior army of 3,000 men was driven in con- 
fusion toward the transports. But do the people 
of Iowa recall distinctly the fact that the larger part 
of that army could never have reached the trans- 
ports and reembarked but for the guns of the 
Coiiestoga and Lexington, which belched forth shell, 
shrapnel, and canister into the dense ranks of the 
pursuing enemy and drove him back in confusion? 
Have the people of this State, and of the whole 
country for that matter, ever stopped to consider 
the value of the service rendered bv these two gun- 
boats to the army and the nation in this the first 
battle fought in the Mississippi Valley proper, and 
the first battle in which the Union forces were com- 
manded by General Grant? Not only was the serv- 
ice great because it saved from early capture a 
large number of western troops, including the 
Seventh Iowa, but in view of subsequent events 
performed a service of incalculable value to the 
Union cause by saving from capture in his first bat- 
tle the soldier who led our armies to final victory. 
And do not forget the important fact, lovvans, that 
the crews of both gunboats contained Iowa sailors. 
Do you recall the pleasure that thrilled every loyal 



lO 

heart when the news of the fall of Fort Henry was 
Hashed over the wires? Are there not persons within 
the sound of mv voiee who experienced the keenest 
pleasure when the o;lorious news came because of 
the thoufrht that Iowa soldiers had helped to deal 
the blow that struck down the rebel flag that floated 
over Fort Henry? Possibly many yet believe that 
the soldiers captured this strong fortification and 
unlocked the Tennessee River. Let me emphasize 
the fact that Iowa boys helped to capture Fort 
Henrv, but thev wore the sailor's uniform and fousfht 
under the gallant P^oote. It was not the fault of the 
soldiers that they failed to take part in the capture. 
They tried hard enough, but the swamps and floods 
were too much even for western endurance and 
resources. The fort was taken by the unaided gun- 
boats, and was turned over to the army when it 
arrived after the surrender. 

The Tyler, Lexington, and Coiestoga, all wooden 
vessels, and the first three gunboats built for use on 
the rixers, went up the Tennessee immediately after 
the capture of b'ort Henry in pursuit of rebel 
steamers which had fled from the scene of our 
victory. The\- i)urned the railroad bridge 20 miles 
above Fort Henry, captured the rebel gunboat 
Eastport in course of construction, burned and 
captured a luimber of steamers, burned mills the 
rebels were using to get out material for gunboats, 



1 1 

fought and dispersed a rebel battery and regiment 
at Pittsburg Landing which the enemy was fortify- 
ing, cleaned the river of ferry and small boats as 
far up as Muscle Shoals, and then returned in 
triumph to join the flotilla below. 

While the Conestoga remained to keep open the 
Tennessee, some of the ironclads returned to Cairo, 
and the Tyle?'- and Lexington, with four ironclads, 
proceeded to Fort Donelson to cooperate with the 
army in an attack on that point. The ironclad 
Carondelet, which arrived two days in advance, had 
the honor to open the siege and battle. She threw 
the first shell into the batteries on the 13th of Feb- 
ruary, and continued the fight alone till disabled by 
a 148-pound shot which entered one of her ports. 
The next day the Tyler and Lexington and four 
ironclads renewed the attack. The plan was for 
the gunboats to silence the lower and upper bat- 
teries and pass them so as to gain a position to 
enfilade the faces of the forts with broadsides. 
This they attempted to accomplish in a crooked, 
narrow, swift stream, exposed to twenty or more 
heavy cannon so mounted that they could rake the 
broadsides of the boats obliquely and plunge their 
shot through the upper deck, which was but 
slightly protected. Some of the 128-pound shots 
crushed through the iron armor, carrying destruc- 
tion with them. Never was a fleet exposed to a 



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more terril)le fire. The shot and shell from the 
fleet plowed into the lower batteries, dismounting 
guns and driving awa\' the gunners, and the four 
guns of the upper battery were at one time silenced. 
The vessels were just on the point of shooting by 
and gaining the desired position when a series of 
disasters befell the fleet and it was compelled to 
withdraw. In the midst of this furious battle of 
the great guns, General Pillow sent this remarkable 
•dispatch to Governor Harris of Tennessee: 

The Federal gunboats are destroying us. For God's 
sake send us all the help you can immediatel3\ I don't 
care for the land force of the enemy; they can't hurt us 
if you can keep those iron hellhounds in check. 

The attack was repulsed, but it was through the 
imperfection of the boats themselves in not having 
sufficient protection to their machinery, wheels, and 
steering apparatus. All concede that the demor- 
alizing effect of the fierce bombardment upon the 
fort could not have been small, and must have 
helped toward the great and hard-won success of 
the next day. The very fact that General Grant 
decided to defer making a general assault until the 
ironclads were repaired and got ready for action 
shows conclusively that he placed high value on 
their coojieration. I3ut the enemv took the initia- 
tive the next morning, and e\ents followed, of sud- 
den and rapid exolution, which compelled him to 



change his plans. The glorious result we all know. 
Iowa soldiers and Iowa sailors showed equal gal- 
lantry in this battle, and to each impartial history 
will give equal praise. 

General Albert Sidney Johnston declared that he 
"fought for Nashville at Fort Donelson." After 
burning the Tennessee iron works, 6 miles from 
Dover, Commodore Foote ascended the Tennessee 
to Clarksville and took possession of that city. 
The rebel troops evacuated the fort and works at 
this place upon the approach of the boats, and after 
firing the splendid railroad bridge at this point 
retreated in the direction of Nashville. Commo- 
dore Foote was preparing to go on up the Cumber- 
land to Nashville to take possession of that city, 
with its immense amount of military stores, when 
to his and General Grant's amazement a peremp- 
tory order from General Halleck came, which said : 
"Don't let the gunboats go higher than Clarks- 
ville," etc. Nashville might just as well have been 
taken possession of then by the gunboats and Grant 
as it was later by General Buell and two gunboats. 
Had General Grant been permitted to reap the full 
fruit of his victory at Donelson, his future opera- 
tions would have been by way of Nashville, and a 
wholly different turn would have been given to the 
war in the Southwest. But for this order of Hal- 
leck's the battle of Shiloh would in all probability 
never have been foup^ht. 



H 

Before the end of February, the Cumberland 
River had been taken possession of by the gun- 
boats and was open for the transportation of army 
supplies and troops as far up as Nashville. The 
Tennessee River was traversed by the gunboats as 
far up as the Shoals. Halleck ordered Grant to 
concentrate his forces at some point on the Ten- 
nessee and make ready for the field, and that two 
gunboats should remain with him. He ordered 
two gunboats to precede Nelson's division up the 
Cumberland to Nashville and the other gunboats 
to be returned to Cairo. It should be borne in 
mind that the gunboats at this time were subject to 
the command of the War Department, and it will 
be observed that the commanding general was dis- 
tributing them with reference to army movements. 

The next opportunity given the gunboats to 
render conspicuous support to the armv was at 
Shiloh. In this furious l)attle some of Iowa's best 
soldiers were first brought face to face in l)l()od\' 
conflict with their deadly foe. Is there an lowan 
whose blood does not quicken at the mention of 
Shiloh? The heroism and endurance of our troops 
were put to tiie severest test in this battle. Some 
of the best regiments sent out b\- this State were 
there, and some of Iowa's sons whose names adorn 
the brightest pages of the liistorx- of the war first 
showed their great genius for command in this 



15 

conflict of varying fortune. Iowa soldiers met the 
enemy at all points on this field, and in every 
instance proved themselves soldiers of the highest 
type — impetuous in the charge and patient and 
stubborn in defending their positions against the 
equally impetuous and courageous soldiers of John- 
ston and Beauregard. Despite the courage and 
endurance of the western troops the first day's 
fight went against them. All recall how gloomy 
was the prospect for the Federals late in the after- 
noon of Sunday; how the determined enemy had 
crowded our dismembered ranks back almost upon 
the river bank; how he had massed an overwhelm- 
ing force on the extreme left of our line and was 
making a desperate attempt to turn it; how at this 
critical moment a wnld fear swept over thousands 
of our men who were holding on, determined not 
to give way; how at this moment the painful ten- 
sion was broken by the thundering guns of the 
Tylei^, which, under the guidance of General Hurl- 
burt's signals, poured in 64-pound shrapnel and 
shell, silencing the enemy's batteries and driving 
the rebel hosts back in confusion; how the enemy, 
made yet more desperate by this unexpected dis- 
play of force by the Federals, increased his force 
and threw himself into the breach with new vigor 
and determination to turn our left flank. This was 
a little after 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Every 



i6 

man who was in the battle and near this point will 
distinctly recall the situation and the awfulness of 
the moment. At this supreme juncture the two 
gunboats, Lexington and Tyler, lying near together, 
opened their broadsides and bow guns upon the 
encmv, ajjain silencins; their batteries and ao:ain 
driving back his dense ranks in confusion and 
inflicting upon him the most fearful loss. From 
this moment the rebel lines began to waver and fall 
back; our men were encouraged and many realized 
that the crisis of the day was passed. 

In referring to this critical juncture in the first 
day's fight General Grant says : 

At a late hour in the afternoon a desperate attempt was 
made to turn our left and get possession of the landing, 
transports, etc. This point was guarded by the gunboats 
Tyler and Lexiiii^ton * * * and in the repulse much is 
due to the presence of the gunboats. 

General Hurlburt. who commanded on the left 
and consequently had the situation under his imme- 
diate observation, in his report says: 

From my owfi observation and the statement of pris- 
oners the fire of the gunboats was most effectual in stop- 
ping the advance of the enemy on Sunday afternoon and 
night. 

The Confederate commander in his report savs: 

The enemy broke and sought refuge behind a com- 
manding eminence covering Pittsburg Landing, under 
cover of the gunboats, which opened a fierce and annoy- 
ing fire with shot and shell of the heaviest description. 



17 

And further on in the report he says the Federals 
were "sheltered by such an auxiliary as their 
gunboats." 

Iowa soldiers who bore their part in this battle — 
in this tornado of musketry and cannon roar, in this 
cloud-burst of minnie balls, canister, grape, shrapnel, 
and shell — who battled and struggled all that long, 
hot Sunday against overwhelming odds, have not 
forgotten how, when darkness closed the awful 
scenes of the day and the groans and cries of the 
wounded were drowned by the thunder and swash 
of rain, there rose above all the noise the loud 
roar of cannon from the gunboats and the screech 
and hiss of 8-inch shells which tore their way like 
bolts of lightning through the darkness, blasting 
trees in their flight, scattering branches of trees in 
every direction, and carrying dismay and destruc- 
tion into the lines of the enemy. 

In speaking of this Beauregard in his report says : 
"During the night the enemy broke the men's rest 
by a discharge, at measured intervals, of heavy shells 
thrown from the gunboats;" and offers this as an 
explanation of why his army was so ill prepared to 
meet the attack of the Federal troops the next 
morning. 

While our soldiers rested and slept as only soldiers 
can after a hard day's battle, though their bed was 
in mud and water, the sailors by reliefs worked the 



long night through, sending iron messengers of 
death and demoraHzation into the disturbed and 
scattering Hnes of the enemy. The final result we 
all know. 

When lowans look upon their State monument, 
erected in part to perpetuate the memory of the 
brave men who fell at Shiloh, will they remember 
and impress upon the minds and hearts of their 
children the fact that Iowa sailors who helped to 
man the guns of the Tyler and Lexington thereby 
helped to save the army from disaster which its 
own courage and desperate fighting alone could 
not have saved it, and that, the soldiers and sailors 
tosfether won the battle of Shiloh ? 

While this battle was raging Iowa soldiers and 
Iowa sailors, with other gallant men, were just com- 
pleting the glorious work of capturing the rebel 
batteries at Island No. lo and the rebel army oppo- 
site New Madrid, Mo. Pope's army had driven the 
rebels out of New Madrid into their breastworks 
and under cover of armed gunboats on the Tennes- 
see side. Here the two forces lay, separated by the 
broad and swift waters of the Mississippi. The 
rebels were secure from attack, unless the gunboats 
could take the island and silence the batteries on 
the Tennessee side. To do this the gunboats would 
have to destroy a heavy floating battery at the head 
of the island, destroy 72 heavy cannon mounted 



19 

within the most carefully built earthworks lining 
both sides of the narrow channel through which the 
boats would have to venture in order to cooperate 
with Pope. To attack these batteries the vessels 
would have to fight head down stream, a most dan- 
gerous and difficult thing to do. Every officer of 
the fleet, except Commander Walke, of the Caron- 
delet, was opposed to making the attempt of run- 
ning the blockade, believing it would result in 
almost certain destruction of the vessels which 
should attempt it. Commodore Foote had written 
to the Secretary of the Navy that — 

When the object of running the blockade becomes 
adequate to the risk I shall not hesitate to do it. 

Pope wrote to Foote : 

The lives of thousands of men and the success of our 
operations hang upon your decision to send me two 
gunboats; with two gunboats all is safe. 

Everything depended upon the presence of the 
gunboats to drive off the rebel gunboats, to silence 
the batteries on the banks of the river protecting 
the rebel army, and cover our troops while cross- 
ing. The bombardment of the island by the mor- 
tar boats and gunboats had resulted in driving the 
floating battery out of its position ; a night expedi- 
tion by the sailors aiid soldiers had resulted in spik- 
ing the heavy guns of the upper battery ; a canal 
50 feet wide and 12 miles long had been cut from 



20 

near Island No. 8 across the neck of the swafnpy 
peninsula to a point near New Madrid, through 
three-fourths of a mile of solid earth and 6 miles of 
almost solid forest, but it could not be made deep 
enough to admit the ironclads. Some light-draft 
transports were sent through to Pope, but these 
were useless to him without the gunboats. Ever}^ 
expedient had failed to get around the island, and 
the time had come to make the hazardous ven- 
ture of running the blockade. The little ironclad 
Carondelet, commanded by the only commanding 
officer who believed the blockade could be run, left 
her anchorage at lo o'clock at night and headed 
down stream. All realized that it was a hazardous 
undertaking, yet every officer and man on the boat 
was eager to make it. Providence seemed to favor 
the undertaking; for, just before the hour came to 
make the start, a thunderstorm broke upon the 
scene and a veil of almost impenetrable darkness 
spread itself over the little vessel. All the lights 
on the vessel were extinguished ; the escape steam 
was turned into the wheelhousc to smother the 
puffing; every man was in his place and knew his 
duty; Miister William Hoel, a Mississippi pilot, 
stood exposed on the forward ])art of the upper 
deck, where he could direct the ])ilot and receive 
soundings from the man at the lead ; Charles Wil- 
son, an Iowa boy from Burlington, stood on the 



2 I 

forecastle with the lead line in hand. The storm 
was now violent ; the waves dashed over the low 
forecastle and washed the cool and brave Wilson 
to the knees; the rain fell in torrents; the thunder 
peals were loud and crashing, and the friendly 
flashes of lightning furnished the only light that 
enabled the gallant Hoel to avoid dangers ahead. 
All w^ent well for half a mile as the vessel stole 
silently by the upper batteries, and it looked as if 
she might get through under cover of darkness and 
in the terrific storm, when suddenly a bright, steady 
flame shot up from each chimney top, as if the 
steamer was carrying aloft two immense torches to 
light her dangerous way. The chimneys were 
burning out, an inopportune circumstance at a 
most inopportune time. For a moment the upper 
works were enveloped in a red glare. The blaze 
subsided only to reappear within a few seconds, 
and rose even higher than before. This aroused 
the enemy, and soon the great guns on either side 
of the channel began to belch forth solid shot and 
shell. Fortunately the blaze deceived the gunners 
and they aimed too high. The roar of the cannon, 
the peals of thunder, the flash of the guns, and the 
streaks of lightning glare made the night both 
hideous and sublime. The storm which at any 
other time would have been considered dangerous 
was now welcomed as increasing the chances of 



22 

escape. The greatest danger now was the shifting 
current and sand bars. The darkness prevented 
the pilots from knowing the exact position of the 
boat, and the lead was relied on to discover the 
depth of water. The brave Hoel took advantage 
of every revelation the lightning made in giving 
direction to the boat. Once only was the little 
vessel on the verge of being lost. In the wind 
and stiff current she was thrown around and was 
near drifting upon a sand bar, where she would 
have grounded under the guns of the enemy. A 
broad lightning flash lit up the river for a moment, 
and the order, quick and sharp, rang out from 
Hoel's lips, "Hard aport ! " and the noble vessel 
obeyed her helm and regained the current just in 
time to be saved. Thus, she made the passage in 
safety and well-earned glory. The perilous voyage 
was made in three hours. 

The next night the Pittsburg ran the gauntlet 
under the kindly protection of a thunder storm. 
The God of nature seemed with us, and to Him be 
praise. The two gunboats were now with Pope 
and all was safe. The rebel gunboats were chased 
down the river; the batteries on the river front 
were silenced; Pope's army was ferried over, and 
the fleeing rebels, hemmed in by swamps and 
Yankees, were soon captured, to the number of 
7,273, besides 3 generals and 273 field and com- 



pany officers. The island and the batteries on the 
Tennessee side opposite the island were surrendered 
to the navy. Thus within two days from the time 
the little Carondelet swung loose from her moor- 
ings to run the batteries the rebel army was cap- 
tured and the islands and batteries surrendered. 
This splendid victory was completed on April 7, 
the same day of the final repulse of Beauregard at 
Shiloh. 

This stronghold, which for a time seemed an 
unsurmountable obstruction in the river, was over- 
come and the rebel army captured by the combined 
efforts of the army and navy. You may judge as 
to which belongs the greater credit. It may be 
said, without prejudice to either, that Iowa soldiers 
and Iowa sailors did their whole duty in this 
important siege, and to both impartial pens and 
tongues will give due credit. 

About this time a resolution was reported in the 
United States Senate expressing the thanks of 
Congress to the officers and men of the Mississippi 
flotilla for great gallantry exhibited in the attacks 
upon Forts Henry and Donelson, and for opening 
the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi. 
In addressing himself to this resolution upon the 
floor of the Senate that distinguished statesman 
and loyal lowan, Senator Grimes, said: 

I am anxious that the people of this entire coun- 
try may feel that the exploits of the Navy, wherever 



24 

performed, are their exploits; that its glory is their 
glory; and that while they are taxing themselves to 
support it, they are supporting the right arm of the 
national defense. I wish the men of Iowa and Minnesota 
to know that they are as effectually defended in their 
liberties at home and abroad by the achievements of the 
Navy on the water as they can be by any victories won 
by our armies on the land. 

And 1 will be pardoned for saying that I am 
anxious that the people of Iowa shall not forget 
these ringing and just words of the Senator, whose 
memory is dear to us all, and that the patriotic 
people who have built a monument in memory of 
Iowa soldiers and sailors shall know that the words 
of dedication to the sailors are as pregnant with 
meaning as any that have been or shall be spoken. 
The gunboats with Pope's army appeared before 
Fort Pillow, the next obstruction to navigation, 
immediately after the fall of Island No. lo. Before 
anvthing could be accomplished bv cooperation, 
however, the army, save one regiment, was ordered 
north by Halleck. Little could be done by the 
navy against Fort Pillow without a sufficient land 
force to operate in the rear. Nevertheless the fleet 
settled down to a regular siege. While this was 
going on a })art of the rebel defense fleet made a 
dash on the mortar boats and their escort, which 
brought on a spirited fight that resulted in the 
enemy being driven ofl" badly crippled. In conse- 



25 

quence of army operations at Corinth resulting in 
the flight of Beauregard from that place, Fort 
Pillow was evacuated on the night of June 4. Our 
vessels immediately proceeded down the river and 
engaged the entire rebel defense fleet, consisting of 
eight armed vessels fitted for rams. On the morn- 
ing of the 6th of June this formidable fleet was 
drawn up in line in front of the city of Memphis. 
The heights were covered with men, women, and 
children who had come out to see Commodore 
Montgomery perform his promise to clean out the 
Yankee p-unboats before breakfast that mornino:. 
Our fleet moved down with the ironclads in the 
lead, followed by the rams Queen of the West and 
Monarch. When within range the rebel gunboats 
opened fire and compelled our vessels to fire with- 
out regard to the city or the people. The firing 
on both sides had become general, when the Queen 
and JMonarch dashed through our fleet into the 
midst of the enemy, thereby exposing themselves 
to a double fire. This unexpected and bold move 
threw the rebels into more or less confusion. The 
QiLee7i made a pass at the rebel General Beaicregard 
and missed her, but struck the Gene^'al Lovell, 
sending her to the bottom with a part of her crew. 
In an effort to ram the Monarch the Beauregard 
missed her and tore away the wheel of the rebel 
General Price. The Benton raked the Beauregard, 



26 

exploding her boilers, killing and scalding most of 
her crew. The rebel boats began to retreat, pur- 
sued by our vessels, and before the battle ended 
the entire rebel fleet was destroyed and captured 
except the General Van Domi, which proved too 
fleet for any of our boats and escaped down the 
river. The Confederate flagship, Little Rebel, was 
badly injured and put into the Arkansas shore, 
where Commodore Montgomery escaped to the 
woods. 

This was the destruction of a fleet of vessels that 
could not be misrepresented. It was overwhelm- 
ingly complete and witnessed by more than 15,000 
people. Few such \'ictories have ever been won, 
and perhaps not one involving greater consequences. 
Had the rebels won in this battle they would have 
been masters of the rivers. They could have 
repaired our vessels and, with a powerful fleet thus 
reenforced, could have ascended the river and laid 
siege to Cairo, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and 
Pittsburg, and either burned or forced tribute from 
all those cities. Besides that, they could have 
retaken Island No. 10, Columbus, Fort Henry, 
Fort Donelson, and destroyed and captured all of 
our transports and supplies wherever found. This, 
fortunately, did not occur. Instead, the rebel fleet 
was either destroyed or in our possession, and the 
Mississippi was open to \^icksburg. 



27 

Memphis surrendered the same day, and the iron- 
clads S^. Louis and Mound City and the wooden 
gunboats Conestoga and Lexingtoit pushed on down 
to White River to cooperate with General Curtis, 
who was coming down through Missouri and 
Arkansas. In ascending the White Riv^er well- 
built earthworks were discovered at St. Charles, 
about 80 miles from the mouth of the river. An 
attack was made at once, the Mound City leading. 
Almost at the beginning of the fight a heavy shot 
penetrated the casemate of the Mound City and 
exploded her steam pipe. The vessel filled with 
scalding steam and hot water, to escape which those 
of the crew not badly wounded by the shot jumped 
overboard. While these brave men were struggling 
in the water the heartless enemy kept on firing at 
them until nearly every one was killed. Out of a 
crew of I 75 but 3 officers and 20 men escaped — a 
dreadful slaughter. The fight was continued to a 
finish, the works being surrendered after several 
hours of hard fighting. In this action the Tenth 
Indiana cooperated with the vessels and assaulted 
the works from the rear. This capture opened 
White River as far up as navigable, and a few days 
later, July i, 1862, the Mississippi flotilla shook 
hands with Farragut's fleet at Vicksburg. 

Thus, within thirteen months the gunboats had 
been built and armed wiiich saved Grant at Bel- 
mont, captlired Fort Henry, cooperated with the 



28 

army in the capture of I-^ort Donelson, saved our 
left from being turned at Shiloh, challenged the 
admiration of the world by the daring and dramatic 
passage of Island No. lo, which resulted in the 
capture of over seven thousand men, 72 cannon, 
and immense quantities of army supplies, drove the 
enemy under cover at Fort Pillow after defeating 
his best boats, destroyed the entire defense fleet at 
Memphis, took possession of Memphis, captured 
St. Charles in cooperation with the Tenth Indiana, 
and, having opened the Tennessee and Cumberland 
rivers, and the Mississippi, as far down as \"icks- 
burg, thus splitting the Confederacy in two, were 
now ready to enter upon a career which for novelty, 
desperate situation, grand achiev^ement, and dura- 
tion is without parallel in naval history. 

Our interest in this chapter of the war is height- 
ened by the fact that Iowa soldiers and sailors 
helped to make the history. 

In 1880 I had the honor of meeting General 
Grant upon his return from his trip around the 
world. In the course of our conversation I asked 
him for an expression respecting the value of the 
service rendered by the gunboats on the Mississippi 
and its tril)utaries during the war. His answer 
came quickly and un(|ualitiedlv: 

Without the gunboats we never could have taken the 
rivers from the Confederates, and without them we could 
not have carried on the war. The South could have 
prolonged the struggle indefinitely. 



29 

This harmonizes with a statement recently made 
by the former Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Herbert, 
who was an officer in the Confederate army, and 
who is a very clear-headed man. He said: 

But for the effectual blockade and the splitting in two 
of the Confederacy by the gunboats on the Mississippi, 
the Southern States could have held out forever. 

This testimony is of the very highest character 
and entitled to respect, and suggests to those who 
have thought and still think that the Navy was a 
very inconsequential factor in putting down the 
rebellion that they might revise their conclusions 
without doing violence to the truth of history. 

I have thought that a fitting companion piece to 
Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea would 
be one entitled, "The Sailors' Cruise from Cairo 
to the Gulf." Assuredly the latter would furnish 
as much, if not more, material for a poem as the 
former. 

I regret that I have not the time to enter more 
fully into details in unfolding the intimate relations 
between the soldiers and the sailors during the 
remaining years of the war, but generalization will 
have to suffice. While this course will necessarily 
prove unsatisfactory, yet enough will be brought 
out in this way, I trust, to emphasize what has 
already been said touching the claim of Iowa 
sailors to the recognition and admiration of the 
good people of Iowa. 



30 

Before the first attack on the outworks of A'icks- 
biirg by the army could be made it was necessary 
that the Vazoo River should be cleared of torpe- 
does to enable the transports loaded with troops 
to ascend with safety to points where Sherman 
desired to land his army preparatory to an attack 
on Haines' Bluffs. The first ironclad to be lost 
was the Cairo, commanded by Selfridge, which 
was blown up by twin torpedoes. The Baron 
Dc Kalb, commanded by an lowan, Lieut. Com. 
John G. Walker, took the place of the lost vessel 
and continued the difficult and dangerous work 
until it was finished. Every advance was made 
under a hot fire, and when the gunboats were 
within 1,200 yards from the enemy they returned 
the fire vigorously. The Benton sustained a ter- 
rific fire from the batteries for two hours while 
protecting the light-draft vessels engaged in the 
work of dredging for torpedoes. During this time 
she was fairly struck thirty times, and was so unfor- 
tunate as to lose her commander, William Gwin, 
the gallant officer in command of the Tyler at 
Shiloh, who was mortally wounded. When the 
river was clear the soldiers, including many lowans, 
landed under great difficulties on account of the 
rains and mud, and made the first attack looking to 
the ca})turc of \'icksburg. No men ever struggled 
and fought more determinedly, and the ironclads 



never displayed more daring or better gunnery, yet 
the elements and conditions were all against us and 
the army was withdrawn. The gunboats, however, 
accomplished the work they were assigned to do, 
and received the hearty thanks and praise of Sher- 
man. To raise the spirits of the men, who had 
been greatly disheartened by the failure, it was 
determined to go up the Arkansas River and take 
Fort Hindman, more commonly designated as 
Arkansas Post. This was a very cleverly con- 
structed square bastioned fort, 300 feet on a side, 
with railroad-iron casemates, mounting 8 and 9 inch 
guns. While the army was moving from a point 4 
miles below to the rear of the works, three iron- 
clads, the De Kalb, commanded by Iowa's Walker, 
leading, made an attack on the fort. This was one 
of the handsomest duels of the war. The vessels 
ran up within 300 yards of the fort, taking as delib- 
erate aim as if at target practice. Considerable 
damage was done to the fort by the gunboats, and 
after making a perfectly satisfactory recbnnoissance 
they withdrew. The army made no assault this 
day. The next day the vessels moved up again in 
the same order as before. The engagement lasted 
till 4.30 p. m., when every gun in the fort on the 
riverside was either dismounted or silenced and 
the inside of the fort completely shattered. When 
the army was close up to the outlying works and 



32 

was about to make a general assault, a white flag 
was run up and the fort surrendered to Admiral 
Porter. 

While the fight between the fort and ironclads 
was raging two light-draft vessels slipped by and 
ascended the river lo miles, where they destroyed a 
bridge, thus cutting off the only avenue of escape 
for the rebels. The work of the gunboats could 
not have been better done and no one gained more 
glory that day than did Iowa's splendid sailor, Lieut. 
Com. (now Admiral) John G. Walker. This 
officer, in command of a fleet, went up the White 
River, drove the rebels out of St. Charles, which 
they had reoccupied, chased the rebel steamer Red 
Wing, loaded with guns and supplies, as far up as 
Duvall's Bluff, where he captured some heavy guns 
about to be loaded on the cars for Little Rock, and 
then returned to the mouth of the Vazoo. 

General Grant had arrived during the absence of 
the fleet and assumed command of the army. 
Admiral Porter was in command of what was 
thenceforth to be known officially as the Mississippi 
Squadron. These two officers understood each 
other perfectly, and worked together without mis- 
understanding and without friction. They were 
plain, practical, common-sense fighting men, who 
knew what tlie text-books had to say about warfare, 
yet in new and untried situations they were text- 



33 

books unto themselves. There were no jealousies 
between them, and what the one proposed the other 
was ready to help carry out to the extent of his 
ability. The same cordial relations existed between 
Sherman and Porter, and the latter held Gen. A. J. 
Smith in the same esteem. 

Grant and Porter were hearty in their coopera- 
tion in every expedient to get in the rear of 
Vicksburg and in every plan for its capture. The 
interview between them that decided the last 
expedient — the running by the batteries — lasted 
but a few moments. Grant said in his quiet way: 
"Porter, I will go below Vicksburg and cross over 
if I can depend on you for sufficient naval force." 
Porter was ready that night; but owing to unavoid- 
able delays in getting the army transports ready it 
was not until the next night that the grand and 
dramatic passage was made. Nothing more bril- 
liant was ever undertaken on land or water. The 
army marched round a distance of 35 miles. The 
point at which Grant desired to cross over was 
Grand Gulf. This point was well fortified by the 
enemy. The banks were from 80 to 100 feet high. 
On these were mounted a loo-pounder rifle and a 
number of 8-inch guns and other guns of smaller 
caliber. The gunboats undertook to silence these 
batteries preparatory to ferrying over the army. 
The result of this battle royal was that the enemy 

M 3 

LofC. 



34 

evacuated the works, and Grant, after crossing his 
army at Bruensburg, moved up and made Grand 
Gulf his base of supplies. The same day the gun- 
boats which remained above Vicksburg made a 
vigorous attack on Haines' Bluffs. The attack was 
characterized by so much vigor and earnestness 
that the enemy was wholly deceived as to its real 
purpose, which was to keep Pemberton from send- 
ing reenforcements to Grand (rulf. Now began 
that wonderful march to the rear of Vicksburg in 
which so many Iowa boys took part, in the progress 
of which Grant, with 40,000 men, defeated John- 
ston on the right with an army of equal size and 
drove Pemberton on his left with nearly as large 
an army into the fortifications of Vicksburg, an 
achievement which placed Grant in the list of the 
foremost captains of any age. 

The thousands of Iowa soldiers who were in the 
series of battles that sealed u]) Vicksburg have not 
forgotten the brilliant work of the gunboats in 
bringing about that result. They have not for- 
gotten the daring exploit of the Queen of the West 
and Indiaiiola in running the batteries in February 
in order to stop the immense supplies that were 
pouring into \^icksburg from the Red River coun- 
try; they have not forgotten the hazardous expe- 
dition under our Walker by the old Yazoo Pass in 
the hope of getting in the rear of \"icksburg; they 



35 

have not forgotten the same kind of an expedition 
up Deer Creek, in both of which the gunboats 
actually became land turtles in crawling through 
heavy timber and through bayous and canals in the 
hope of surprising the enemy in the rear ; they have 
not forgotten the plucky fight of the Cincinnati 
when she was sunk by the upper batteries; they 
have not forgotten the rain of 13-inch shells thrown 
incessantly, day and night, by the sailors for forty- 
two days; nor have they forgotten the magnificent 
work done by the naval battery on land under the 
direction of Iowa's Walker, who seems to have 
been wherever there was real danger and plenty of 
work to do; and finally they can never forget the 
passage of the gunboats by Vicksburg and the fight 
between the boats and the batteries at Grand Gulf, 
which for boldness and brilliancy has seldom been 
equaled and never surpassed. The army sealed 
Vicksburg up in the rear and the navy sealed it up 
in front. The navy cut off all supplies for the 
besieged city and kept open every water communi- 
cation for carrying supplies to the Union army. 
Under the protection of the navy the sick and the 
wounded soldiers were taken to comfortable hos- 
pitals and well men were taken to the army. The 
army without the navy could not have gotten to 
the rear of Vicksburg, and having once got there 
could not have remained long without it, while the 



36 

tiavy independent of the army could have operated 
indefinitely on the water ways of the South. Yet 
neither could have accomplished the final result 
independently of the other. 

The Confederacy was thrilled with a sense of 
the danger threatening Vicksburg and Pemberton's 
entire army. Every resource of the Confederates 
was strained to giv^e relief. Guerrilla bands with 
field pieces appeared along the Mississippi and 
attacked our transports in the hope of embarrass- 
ing the army by stopping supplies, and attacks on 
various points were made as diversions in favor of 
Vicksburg. But the gunboats were equal to the 
requirements and drove off the guerrillas and kept 
the river free for transports and assisted in the 
repulse of considerable bodies of Confederates at 
Helena, Milliken's Bend, and other points. So the 
good work of our army and navy went on till 
Vicksburg was taken. 

While the siege was progressing the gunboats 
cleared Red River; destroyed the expensive chain 
obstruction at Fort De Russey, and captured that 
fort; cleared the Yazoo River, and captured mil- 
lions of dollars' worth of })roperty. 

The little garrison of 3,500 men under Gen. 
B. M. Prentice at Helena was saved by the Tyler 
when attacked, on the same day Vicksburg fell, by 
Holmes and Price with 18,000 men. The garrison 



of 800 men at Fort Donelson were on the eve of 
surrender to Forest with 4,500 men when the gun- 
boats came to the rescue and saved them. The 
gunboats followed Morgan up the Ohio 500 miles 
and prevented his crossing back, and thus insured 
his capture. The garrison at Decatur, Ala., was 
furiously attacked by General Granger and was 
saved by the General Tho7nas, which drove the 
rebels off with considerable loss. The gunboats 
cooperated with Banks on the Red River expedi- 
tion and rendered great service to the army. So 
the light drafts on the Tennessee and Cumberland, 
when the course of the war in the West had drifted 
in the main away from the Mississippi, were con- 
stantly at work convoying army transports with 
supplies for the army, and in beating back detached 
forces of the rebel army and independent com- 
mands whose mission it was to harrass our armies 
and to obstruct the navigation of the rivers. 

When Hood advanced on Nashville to attack 
Thomas the Carondelet, the little ironclad that ran 
the batteries at Island No. 10, and five light-draft 
boats hurried to the support of our army. They 
drove out some heavy batteries planted by Hood 
below the city, and by moving up and down the 
river thwarted many of his plans and helped 
Thomas materially, which that great General gener- 
ously acknowledged in a letter to Admiral Lee. 



38 

For thirty days and nights the officers and crews of 
these vessels had but Httle rest, so constantly were 
they engaged in giving support to Thomas and in 
heading off Hood's army in its mad efforts to escape. 
But for impassable roads and the inability of the 
gunboats to get above Muscle Shoals, on the Ten- 
nessee, the bulk of Hood's army would have been 
captured. As it was, the victory was complete and 
practically ended the war in the Southwest. 

From the beginning of hostilities in the West 
after September, 1861, until the close of the war 
there was not a single battle fought near a navi- 
gable river that the gunboats did not take part in 
and render valuable service to the army. And 
when we consider the fact that lowans were on 
nearly every vessel in the squadron during the war, 
and that Iowa had commissioned officers on 27 of 
them, we may justly claim as lowans a full share in 
the honors and glory won by the gunboats on 
the Mississippi and its tributaries during the war. 
Furthermore, it establishes a substantial and endur- 
ing claim of Iowa sailors to have their memory 
inscribed on the monument erected by the gen- 
erous patriotism of the State. low^a had sailors in 
every squadron save that which tlid service on the 
Potomac, and her sons took part in many of the 
severest engagements in which our ships outside 
were engaged, but 1 ha\e already overstepped the 



39 

time allotted me, and can not, therefore, speak indi- 
vidually of them, however much I would like to. 

No State made a grander war record than Iowa 
in putting down the rebellion. She furnished vol- 
untarily more troops than her quota ; she furnished, 
mainly from her river towns, enough men to man 
five gunboats of the class of the Tyler and enough 
officers to man three such vessels; she furnished 
such generals for the Army as Belknap, Crocker, 
Curtis, Corse, and a host of others whose brilliant 
records speak for themselves and reflect glory upon 
the State that sent them forth. In the Navy the 
State had her Walker, her Sells, her Wilson, and 
others who in that arm of the service held up the 
honor of the State and reflected credit upon them- 
selves and the nation. At home she had those two 
splendid patriots, her war governor, Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood, whose p^reat heart went out like Lincoln's 
toward the men at the front, whose comfort and 
well being were his constant concern ; and Nat 
Baker, the model adjutant-general of the State, 
whose painstaking for the soldiers was not surpassed 
by that of any other adjutant-general during the 
war. In the United States Senate the State had at 
the head of the Naval Committee Senator Grimes, 
and in the House such men as Representative Price, 
who were ever alert in looking after Iowa troops 
and sailors and in strengthening the Army and 



40 

Navy wherever it could be done by legislation. 
Since the war she has redeemed every promise 
made to soldiers and sailors b}^ extending to them 
political recognition and succor of every kind. She 
has steadfastly insisted upon legislation, State and 
national, that would give prompt and sufficient 
relief to needy soldiers and sailors, their widows, 
and orphans. This is her policy to-day, and ever 
will be her policy. She has never sympathized with 
the policy that would dole out to the veteran a 
$2.50 pension, nor close the doors of Government 
employment to him. Forty years have not lessened 
her zeal for the men who brought her glory between 
'61 and '65, and the ides of November will show 
that she still knows how to cast her electoral vote 
in the interest of the veterans. 

To be identified with a State like this is glorious. 
For one, I thank God that I am thus identified. 



